This Hilton Head rooftop dinner spot doesn't want to reduce hours but says it must

Poseidon Rooftop Bar is scaling back from seven days a week to four because it can't find enough employees.

"We want to be open seven days a week up there — there are gorgeous sunsets," said Alan Wolf, SERG Restaurant Group Director of Operations said. "We do not have enough staff to keep the rooftop open Sunday, Monday and Tuesday."

Dinner service will remain seven days a week inside the restaurant.

A workforce crises that has been building on the island for about three years appears to be continuing into this season, Wolf said.

"This is an extremely stressful environment," Wolf said. "The stress comes from not knowing what the traditional work-flow will be for the summer season."

Poseidon is not the only restaurant in the SERG Group affected by the shortage, Wolf said. He said the local company's newest restaurant — Skull Creek Dockside — saw similar problems over spring break.

"I had two sections inside Dockside that we could not open because we didn't have enough staff," Wolf said. "That is 75 seats."

Tio's Latin American Kitchen on Hilton Head Island closed temporarily and abruptly last week, also citing staffing issues. The owner told the Island Packet that replacing staff is not easy on island.

Other restaurants in the region cut back hours or closed last year — several saying it was due to a workforce shortage.

Wolf said hours and sections have to be limited to continue quality service.

"We would lose customers in the long run," Wolf said. "People only go out to eat for food and service. If we can't provide those at a quality level in a timely manner — then we are jeopardizing our business."

For example, Wolf said nearly all applicants for kitchen positions on the island have limited and entry level experience.

"This is a problem when you need to cook a steak at medium," Wolf said. "It is a problem when you want saute from scratch. It means you have to make changes on the operational side for ease of execution."

The upcoming season could be even more concerning because the island appears to be seeing record numbers of tourists. On April 4, the island had the second highest day in terms of traffic in the past decade, according to bridge data from the S.C. Department of Transportation.

Resorts and the Hilton Head Island Bluffton Chamber of Commerce also are projecting an increase in visitors this summer.

"We have more visitors and not enough workforce," Wolf said. "We have a fundamental imbalance in the progression of our island in the last 20 years. We have promoted to have more visitors come onto our island but we have not made sure to have workforce housing."

Wolf said there has to be a unified effort from the Town of Hilton Head Island and local businesses to provide housing that workers can afford.

"It is great to have record visitor numbers," Wolf said. "I just hope they all left with a great experience."

This story was originally published April 11, 2018 at 4:33 PM with the headline "This Hilton Head rooftop dinner spot doesn't want to reduce hours but says it must."